Typically, the Buddhadharma declines with the passing of every succeeding generation. The Buddhadharma represented by each new generation at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, however, supercedes the previous generation. The Bhikshus and Bhikshunis were never this earnest in the past. Each upcoming shramanera [novice monk], shramanerika [novice nun], and anyone who joins the monastic life at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas must be able to stand in for ten people. Ten of you must stand in for one hundred. A hundred of you must stand in for a thousand. A thousand of you must stand in for ten thousand. You must be the outstanding ones among your class and stand out from the crowd. You must surpass your teacher; be even better than your teacher. That's for sure. I'm not making too high of a demand; it's just that the Buddhadharma has degenerated much too severely. Without excellent advisors and cultivators, Buddhism cannot flourish again.

The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas is the foundation for Buddhism in the West. We must develop movers and shakers in the Dharma and leaders for Buddhism. In the future, you must propagate Buddhism throughout the entire world so that Buddhism is in every corner of the world. You must strengthen the roots of Buddhism in every country so that it branches out, grows, blossoms, and bears fruit. Buddhism must prevail throughout the entire world in the future. Leaders of Buddhism, whether Bhikshus or Bhikshunis, must propagate the Buddhadharma throughout the entire Dharma Realm. We're now moving toward this direction because the entire world is in hot water. The human race is on its way to death. Human nature is nearly extinct. Look, the world is full of children with learning disabilities and other frightening and incurable diseases. Natural disasters and accidents caused by men also fill the world to its brim. Survival of the fittest best describes this era.

We have the responsibility to propagate Buddhism and make it shine upon this world of darkness. Each of us has to shoulder this responsibility of making the world a brighter place. You shouldn't say, "This has nothing to do with me. I'll just wait. Somebody else could do the job. I'm just one person out of the entire world." You should know that if you as an individual refuse to contribute, there will be no hope for a better world.

"I want to make the entire world a better place. Let me begin with myself. How should I start?" You must purify your body, mouth, and mind; quell your greed, hatred, and delusion. Once you clean up your tainted thoughts and fully possess the precepts, samadhi, and wisdom, then greed, hatred, and delusion will naturally be extinguished. Each and every one of us has the responsibility to diligently cultivate the precepts, samadhi, and wisdom, and to quell greed, hatred, and delusion. If you can really do it, this world of darkness will become bright.

Look, homosexuality is everywhere in the world. This type of improper behavior exists everywhere. This type of behavior is the type of behavior that ends nations and extinguishes races. This type of behavior is the type of behavior that defies principles of the universe. Yet it is everywhere. Such characters also conceal themselves within Buddhism, which is most pathetic. Such characters must all be demons and phantoms. They are goblins from the mountains and monsters from bodies of water who came to this world to ruin Buddhism. For all of you who have come to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, you must put your body and mind in order. Don't become angry or strike up false thoughts over the tiniest problems. You should really know what our responsibilities are. Not only should we save our parents in this lifetime, but we should also save our parents throughout every one of our lives. Not only should we save our parents throughout every one of our lives, but we should save the parents of all beings, the siblings of all beings. We must expand our frame of mind, to "take care of others' parents as if they're our parents, to take care of others' children as if they're our children." Not only should we treat our sisters by blood as our own, but recognize that every one in our age group around the world are our real sisters.

We must hold on to the goal of peace in the world. "To practice the great Way is to treat the world as belonging to the public; to select the worthy and capable; to be trustworthy and to harmonize; to not only take good care of one's own parents and children but also make sure that all elders and young ones are taken care of; to ensure that adults are employed and young ones are nourished; to see that widows, widowers, and the solitary all have a home to go to and are protected..." We must put the spirit of the Buddha into practice and save the human race from the deep end of the water, from the brink of death. It is our personal responsibility to restore their lives. Don't be so myopic and narrow-minded as to see only my parents, my friends, and my relatives. We must treat all races in the world equally, consider them all as our parents, friends, and relatives. We should expand our frame of mind. Don't be so narrow-minded as to recognize our own relatives and friends only while disregarding everyone else. Having transmigrated in the six paths for limitless eons, not only are humans beings our friends and relatives, but all beings have been our parents in the past and will be Buddhas in the future. Accordingly, we must broaden our horizons.

The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas is under the auspices of the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association. We must have minds as large as the Dharma Realm. Of course, there are positives and negatives within the Dharma Realm. We must treat the good and the bad equally.

We ought to be impartial toward enemies and friends, toward those near and far, young and old. We must advance vigorously. This is our goal in general, which should be a basic attitude for monks and nuns. We must save the entire world and the entire human race. We must turn the world of darkness into the world of brightness. What is a world of darkness? It's one where everyone is foolish. What is a world of brightness? It's one where everyone is wise. That would be a brighter world.